A simmering issue in the Islamic world's relations with the West concerning the tension between the sacred and the secular took a particularly violent turn on 11 September 2001 when Usama Bin Laden... Show moreA simmering issue in the Islamic world's relations with the West concerning the tension between the sacred and the secular took a particularly violent turn on 11 September 2001 when Usama Bin Laden and his Al-Qacid a network launched a coordinated assault on the US in the name of sacred duty. The West reacted with stunned surprise. But given the long history of Islamic fundamentalist grievances, is not the West's surprise itself surprising? Show less
The relationship between religion and politics, between church and state, has been a well rehearsed issue in Muslim thought and practice, because Islam emerged fully into history as a dual... Show moreThe relationship between religion and politics, between church and state, has been a well rehearsed issue in Muslim thought and practice, because Islam emerged fully into history as a dual tradition of church and state, and because as such Muslims have been less sanguine than Europeans about making a rigid separation between the secular and the sacred, or between the public and private domain. By virtue of such history and by reason of the subsequent Western secular expansion in the Muslim world, there is widespread reaction to the legitimacy of national secular governments among contemporary Muslims. Some of that reaction goes back to the effects of colonial rule. Show less
